1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of oral dentifrices, particularly in the field of toothpastes. More particularly, the present invention relates to expanded toothpastes that have an increased volume-to-mass ratio in order to reduce the overall mass of toothpaste that is dispensed during each use. Such dentifrices deliver a lower absolute quantity of active ingredients while maintaining their legally required concentrations.
2. The Relevant Technology
Toothpastes and other dentifrices are widely used in America and throughout the world to provide good oral hygiene, to prevent tooth decay, remove stains and to treat or minimize other problems associated with oral hygiene, such as gum disease and foul breath odor. Toothpastes typically include an inert carrier gel or paste, abrasive agents for removing plaque and other impurities found on a person's teeth, decay preventing medicaments, such as fluorides flavorants, surfactants, detergents, and other additives to provide a desired consistency and cleansing or medicinal activity. While many ingredients may be added or eliminated according to fads or perceived specialized needs, such as baking soda or tartar removing agents, modern toothpastes almost uniformly include fluoride in one form or another.
Fluoride has been medically proven to aid in the prevention of tooth decay. Typically, tooth decay causing agents generally comprise acids formed by bacterial breakdown of sugars in a person's mouth. Enamel treated with fluoride is much more resistant to such acidic attack compared to enamel that has not been treated with fluoride.
Nevertheless, there are some problems associated with the careless use of fluoride. While topical administration of fluoride to teeth provides reduced tooth decay, fluorides can be harmful if ingested in large enough amounts. Ingesting too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis and even death in some cases. Even if sublethal doses of fluoride are ingested, a person with fluorosis will often develop brown, mottled enamel and/or bone dyscrasia and other abnormalities. Even lower levels of fluoride ingestion can cause significant tooth discoloration. In higher amounts, the fluoride can affect the structural formation of teeth and cause inappropriate development, particularly in children.
While fluorosis can affect persons of any age, it is particularly pronounced in children. This is because children are much smaller and have far less body mass compared to adults. In addition, their bodies are in the development stage so that health problems have a more permanent and long-term effect. Therefore, a quantity of fluoride that is safe when ingested by an adult might be harmful if ingested by a child.
Moreover, because children are generally resistant to certain hygienic practices, including brushing their teeth on a regular basis, toothpaste manufacturers have deliberately developed toothpaste that taste good to encourage brushing. While this might have the beneficial effect of encouraging more brushing by children, it has the negative side effect of enticing children to swallow the toothpaste while they brush. Depending on the taste, children may intentionally or unintentionally swallow substantial amounts of toothpaste. Moreover, children generally do not understand that it is not proper to swallow toothpaste and might swallow large amounts even though many toothpastes for children include a warning label against ingestion of the product. Much of the problem stems from the tendency of children to apply too much toothpaste onto the brush.
Because of the known dangers associated with ingesting high levels of fluoride, toothpaste manufacturers generally recommend that children use only a pea-size quantity of toothpaste on the brush. A "pea-size" amount is typically about 1/3 the amount of toothpaste needed to fully cover an adult-sized toothbrush, as seen on advertisements generally. While such warnings are certainly proper, they are often not understood and ignored by both adults and children alike. In general, children simply do not understand that fluoride, while beneficial in very low doses, can be a poison at higher levels.
In real-life situations, most humans including children will lay a solid strip of toothpaste across the entire length of the toothbrush bristles. This is not surprising since we are all familiar with the ubiquitous television and print advertisements showing an inviting and generous quantity of toothpaste that runs the length of the toothbrush bristles, and even curls artistically and invitingly up and around on the end to form a solid strip across the length of the toothbrush with a "curly-Q" on one end. It is obviously in the toothpaste manufacturer's best interest to encourage the use of larger quantities of toothpaste, even though wasteful, in order to cause faster toothpaste depletion and more subsequent sales.
Because of this reality, the unfortunate result is that children have been found to develop fluorosis, which causes brown, mottled enamel. In addition, even more moderate doses of fluoride can create discoloration affect structural formation of teeth, and cause diseased teeth and bones. It is possible that the dangers of fluoride ingestion by children might actually outweigh the benefits of fluoride in fighting tooth decay, at least in some cases.
In addition to fluoride, toothpastes can include other ingredients which, while beneficial when applied topically in the mouth, might have unwanted side effects if ingested. Other ingredients in toothpaste that should not be ingested include surfactants, agents used to fight gum disease, tartar removal agents, bleachants, and other cleansing or disinfecting agents that are intended for topical application only.
In light of the foregoing, what are needed are compositions and methods for manufacturing toothpastes and other dentifrices which reduced the level of fluoride and other active ingredients that might be ingested by adults or children while still providing their beneficial effects.
It would be an additional improvement in the art to provide compositions and methods for manufacturing toothpastes and other dentifrices that provided the desired concentration of active fluoride and other dental agents while reducing the amount delivered.
Moreover, it would be a marked improvement in the art to provide compositions and methods for manufacturing toothpastes and other dentifrices that yielded compositions having an increased rate of dispersion of the fluoride and/or other active ingredients into saliva or water within a person's mouth compared to conventional toothpastes.
In particular, it would be a tremendous improvement in the art to provide compositions and methods for manufacturing toothpastes and other dentifrices that had increased dispersibility in saliva such that the active dental agent, such as fluoride, is more rapidly available to effect its beneficial activity.
Such compositions and methods for manufacturing improved toothpastes and other dentifrices are disclosed and claimed herein.